Reality Bites

[Spindarene]

((VW5, Lily Ashburg: START))

The first thing that Lily noticed was that she had to pee. She opened her eyes and found that she was laying on a shiny, hardwood floor. She felt groggy, and had to try a couple times before she succeeded in standing up. As she took in her surroundings, the memories of the last few hours came back to her. The way those men had cornered her at her locker, the speech in the strange room. Lily felt something building inside her. She didn't understand what it was at first, then realized that it was panic. She was living her worst nightmare.

For a few seconds she just stood there, petrified, until her bladder brought her back to earth. Lily glanced to either side, noticing that a bag lay slightly to her left. She remembered what the man said about the bandanas. She raised her hand to her neck, and lightly brushed the collar with her fingers. Crouching down, Lily dug her hand into the bag, not really noticing what was inside, until she found a purple bandana. She clumsily tied it onto her upper left arm, then started off in search of a bathroom. It took her about ten minutes to find one.

She had a harder time finding her way back to her stuff, because she'd been so distracted that she hadn't remembered the exact route that she'd taken. Eventually, though, she found her bag again, and examined the contents more thoroughly. The first thing she found was a pink, Hello Kitty themed t-ball bat. Lily stared at it incredulously. Was this her weapon? How the hell was she supposed to defend herself with this? She froze. Was she going to have to defend herself? Were her classmates actually going to play? She had a hard time believing that the people that she saw every day, who she sat next to and did projects with, were capable of murder. Then she remembered the party.

To distract herself from where her thoughts were going, she dug farther into the bag. She found some junk food, and a spare change of clothes, including a purple tank top. Right, like wearing the stupid bandana wasn't bad enough. Wearing that top was as good as inviting everyone to come kill her.

At the bottom of the bag, she touched what felt like dull, metal spikes. She frowned slightly. Was this her real weapon? The area around it seemed to be soft, smooth leather. She grasped the material, and pulled it out of the bag. If she hadn't seen “Pulp Fiction,” she would have had no clue as to what it was. As soon as she saw what it was, she threw it on the ground in disgust. It was a black leather gimp suit, complete with metal spikes on the shoulders and a thin metal chain attached to the zipper on the front.  A little afraid of what she'd find, she searched the bag for the obligatory mask, but didn't find it. She thought that was a little weird, but didn't really care. Her school supplies and personal belongings were gone. That was when it hit her.

She had unfinished drawings in her sketchbook. She'd been writing a poem and a short story on her phone. She was rereading Sherlock Holmes. She would never finish any of those things. They would be sent to her parents as consolation prizes. “Hey, sorry we killed your daughter. On the bright side, you'll be able to make a lot of money off of her final projects. After all, artists are only truly appreciated when they're dead.”

Lily could feel her eyes filling with tears. She tried to stop them, to gain control over herself. This was not the time to be crying. She was supposed to watch for other people. She was supposed to find her teammates. She was supposed to come up with a goddamn plan. Her face crumpled, and she couldn't stop the sobs from coming. All she could do was to wrap her arms around her legs and stuff her face into her knees to muffle the sound.

She was going to die. She was never going to see her parents again. She was never going to see Sarah or Lisa or May or Kelsey again. She tried not to imagine her parents' faces when they were told that they were going to lose their only child. She tried not to imagine her friends huddled together in the cafeteria, with one member of their group missing. She thought of Dougie. He was here somewhere.

Lily raised her head, and was more successful at stifling her tears this time. She had to find him. A painful, almost physical need arose. She needed to see him. She needed to know that he was okay. For all intents and purposes, he was the only friend she had left in the world. He was the only thing that mattered anymore. Lily wiped her face and started gathering up her stuff. Soon, everything except the gimp suit, the purple tank top, and the bat were packed neatly back into the bag. She'd decided to leave the gimp suit and the tank top behind, and she needed the bat out in order to defend herself. After she picked up the bag, she paused. She had no idea where Dougie was, or how to find him. She stood still for a minute, thinking. Finally, she decided to just pick a direction, and started walking.

On her way out, her attention was caught by a bunch of chairs that looked like they'd been thrown around. Even the piano looked like it had been knocked out of place. As she walked over to take a closer look, she saw red on the floor. As she shifted her attention, she stiffened. It was blood. Either the producers had thrown this out there to scare them, or the game had already started. Lily felt her stomach tighten. She had to get out of here. Without another glance, she hoisted her bag further onto her shoulder, and ran towards the door.

((Lily Ashburg continued in First Impressions))